EAST SLAMS THE DOOR ON THE WEST

TIME TO CELEBRATE: Powder Valley's Brad Feik and his East teammates were proud of their 14-0 win over the West in the East-West Shrine Game Saturday. (The Observer/Pierre LaBossire).

Pierre LaBossiere

Observer Staff Writer

BAKER CITY Â Powder Valley's Brad Feik spent most of the game in the West backfield, while La Grande's Kyle Bomberger claimed the game's second-most exciting play.

Bomberger and Feik did plenty to help the East defeat the West 14-0 at Baker Bulldog Memorial Stadium Saturday in the 51st Annual Shrine East-West All-Star game.

Bomberger, playing both quarterback and linebacker, threw for 40 yards and rushed for 25 more. He was under center for both of the East's touchdowns.

The star of the game was Elmira's Caleb Dysart, who carried 18 times for 150 yards, and had an 80-yard run for a touchdown.

Feik wasn't sure beforehand how much he would get to play because he was an undersized lineman (175 pounds) who played noseguard in 8-man football. There isn't normally a noseguard in 11-man high school football.

So Feik was moved to defensive end, and his quickness ended up causing the West offensive line all sorts of problems. He blew around the corner literally at will, and had two tackles for losses. He also helped chase a West quarterback into another tackle for a loss.

Feik, who also played a bit on the offensive line, liked his new position.

"(Afterward) I felt I should have been playing defensive end all along," said Feik.

Feik, who rotated back and forth between left and right end, was frustrated that the West kept rolling its quarterbacks and sweep plays away from his side of the line.

"They were scared of me," he said.

Feik had his first tackle for a loss during the first series of the game, forcing a West punt. That really got him into the game.

"That was great. That really pumped me up. I'm ready to do it again," he said.

Bomberger, meanwhile, had a play in the fourth quarter reminiscent of "The Longest Yard."

After a West fumble gave the East the ball on the 29-yard-line in the fourth quarter, Bomberger drove his team down to the 11. On a third-and-six play, he rolled right, cocked to throw the ball, didn't see anything he liked, then sprinted all the way back to the left sideline.

Bomberger and a dozen other East and West players all converged at the intersection of the left sideline and the goal line. After the pile was uncovered, the ball was placed literally an inch short of the goal line for first-and-goal.

Bomberger ended up running roughly 80 yards on the play for a gain of 10 yards. The East scored on the next play on a quick plunge by converted fullback Stefan Maupin of Vale to seal the victory.

"It was a pass that turned into a scramble," Bomberger said of his play. He also thought he had scored.

"They didn't give it to me," he said.

Bomberger also had a 30-yard pass completion to Brian Seward of Sweet Home, and a 9-yard run.

The East in general dominated the defensive game. The West never seriously threatened to score after early in the second quarter. The East's Eric Delph of Weston-McEwen intercepted a West pass in the end zone with 13:17 left in the second to wipe out the West's one-and-only legitimate scoring chance.

Seconds after that INT, Dysart had his 80-yard TD run down the right sideline.

It did briefly appear that the West had scored a safety at one point. The West blocked a punt out of the back of the end zone, but the safety was waived off because both squads had agreed before the game not to rush the punters.

The East gained a total of 357 yards, including 267 yards on the ground. The West was held to 135 yards.